Description
Experience room-filling, high-resolution sound for your movies, gaming, and music with Polk MXT20 wall-mountable, compact surround loudspeaker. Featuring a Dynamically Balanced acoustic array with a 1” High-Resolution Terylene Tweeter and a 6.5” Polypropylene Woofer, the bookshelf speaker pair delivers crystal-clear, highly detailed sound – no matter what you’re listening to or where you’re sitting in the room. It is Hi-Res Audio Certified and ensures accurate sound reproduction from even the latest Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound AVRs and amplifiers. These speakers can be used as front, rear or surround channel and can be placed anywhere in the room without compromising audio. The Monitor XT Series is designed with quality, timbre-matched Polk components to enable you to mix and match models and build your dream home theater or music listening environment. Add the MXT70 tower pair, MXT35 center channel, MXT90 height module, and the MXT12 sub for a complete 5.1 surround setup.
From the manufacturer
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Hi-Res Audio Certified Performance Monitor XT20’s Terylene dome tweeters enable playback beyond the range of human hearing-up to 40kHz-ensuring an airy, clear, high-end energy and spaciousness that you’ll not only hear but feel. MXT20 is a perfect speaker set to enjoy high-resolution movies, gaming or the latest high-resolution streaming services like Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music HD, Qobuz and Spotify HiFi. |
Surprisingly Effortless Bass Polk has always been known for speakers that produce effortless bass that’s surprising for their size. The MXT20 is no exception. Beefy 6.5″ high-efficiency, Dynamically Balanced woofers provide a clean, open mid-range and punchy, responsive bass, with low distortion-making voices and instruments clearly heard and movie soundtracks and music filled with impact . |
Dolby Atmos Certified & DTS:X Compatible Compatible with the latest Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound enabled AV receivers and 4- and 8-ohm amplifiers, Monitor XT does not require specialized equipment to deliver great sound. |
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Built for Pure Listening All Monitor XT models are made for the enjoyment of pure sound: Their nickel-plated binding posts provide a direct, lossless connection; critically braced, low-resonance, MDF cabinets isolate the sound of the woofer and tweeter without adding unwanted resonances; and their removable, precision-fit grilles minimize sonic interference. |
Elevate Your Surround Sound Combine the MXT90 height module (available separately) with the MXT20 to experience new dimensions of 3D sound. Raise your home theater to new heights. The Monitor XT90 enhances movies & games with 3D sound in Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. |
Modern Styling Nearly Five Decades in the Making Monitor XT Series is the latest evolution of Polk’s critically acclaimed Monitor speaker line originally introduced in 1974. We’ve continued to refine our craft since then and they feature our latest innovations in affordable, but great sounding tweeters, woofers and cabinetry. Plus, their modern, stylish design will fit with any home décor. |
Hal Nash –
Impressive bookshelf speakers ! ! ! Update 30March2016I wanted to downsize my speakers. After listening to some borrowed Polk speakers, I liked the Polk sound. So I started shopping around and settled on these Monitor 40s. I wanted to have a pair of woofers in each speaker that could handle the mid-bass well (I also have an 8″ subwoofer made by MartinLogan to handle the lower bass). I have two pairs now and drive them with a vintage quadraphonic (4 channel) receiver that has about 16 watts per channel. That may not sound like a lot of watts, but it’s plenty. (By the way, most people listen to music at about 1 watt of receiver power. Yes, that’s true.) The sensitivity (or efficiency) of these speakers is 89dB. That means that these speakers will put out 89dB of volume at 1 watt of power from 1 meter away. 89dB is pretty loud. I rarely hit 80dB when listening to music.So, with these four Monitor 40s, I’ve got eight 5.25″ woofers handling the mid-bass, and four tweeters handling the highs. To me, these speakers sounded great right out of the box. Some listeners report better sound as the speakers “break in.” If that’s the case, then they will only get better and better as time goes on.I’ve done some listening with just the front two speakers. The soundstage is quite wide. The detail is good without being harsh. I’ve not experienced any listener fatigue.These speakers are impressive as “bookshelf” speakers. The woofers can put out really decent bass all on their own without a subwoofer. Having a sub certainly helps extend the bass lower, but these speakers definitely impress with their bass output. Lots of other bookshelf speakers have a single woofer built into them. Having a pair of 5.25″ woofers in each speaker gives them a little more “oomph,” in my opinion.The grills are nice and do a great job of protecting the drivers. This is important to me, because I have a very active border collie that gives the word “fetch” a whole new meaning. Occasionally, an errantly thrown ball can hit the speaker, but the well-made grills prevent any damage.I have the speakers on some simple DIY speaker stands which tilt the front of each speaker up about 2 inches so that the tweeter is aimed close to my ear level when seated. Doing so with any speaker will often improve the listening experience.For the price, these speakers deliver a good quality audio experience. Sure, the sky’s the limit when it comes to audio, but at $125-150 per pair, compared to similarly priced (and likely higher) products, these Polks are worth your consideration.The quality of construction is very good. They are attractive. I have one pair each of cherry and black speakers.These speakers can also be bi-wired or bi-amped. If you don’t know what that is, just google it. In short, this is a method of splitting the high and low frequencies. Some persons report getting a bit better audio quality when so doing. In my case, I don’t have my speakers bi-amped or bi-wired. But it might be a feature some are looking for.These speakers are worth considering.UPDATE: I wanted to upgrade my Polk Monitor 40s one step so I compared them to a pair of ELAC B6’s which have received very positive reviews. My receiver is a New-Old-Stock Sansui QRX-5500 that I obtained about 2 months ago… so I have the capability of listening in 2- and 4-channel. I listen mostly to streamed music through 192Kbps Pandora One and 320Kbps Spotify Connect paid subscriptions. I use a Polk PSW505 12″ subwoofer. However, while doing the A/B testing described below, I have left the sub off so just the bookshelfs were playing. My living room is my listening room, too. It’s likely considered a “hard” room, with no carpet, lots of hard walls and windows, a soft couch and recliner and with no special sound treatment by me.I’ve had some Polk Audio Monitor 40s for about 9 months that have served as both the front mains and rear surrounds… with good results, at least to me. I got some ELAC B6 bookshelf speakers last week and have set up an A/B testing device using a Niles SPS-4 Speaker Selection System. I’ve been doing the A/B-ing since Thursday through to right now between the Polks and the ELACs.After reading about the ELACs I expected there to be a noticeable gain in audio quality over the Polks… but to my ears, that hasn’t been the case. Since Thursday, I’ve listened to probably 20 hours or more and the Polks have hung in there very well compared to the ELACs.Before I go further, I’m 62 years young, have moderate to severe hearing loss augmented by use of a hearing aid. My loss is mostly in the high frequency regions.The Polks have a better, clearer, more pronounced high-frequency-end than the ELACs. Of course, this is the way my ears are hearing it. The upper frequency Polk sound, however, is not harsh or overly bright but definitely comes in as more noticeable than do the ELACs. It’s almost as if the highs in the ELACs are muted to a degree. I checked and double checked that my speaker wire connections were correct.NOTE: I did some reading about speaker driver “break in” and the SCIENTIFIC view is that speaker “break in” is a myth. So, I am discounting any suggestions that the ELACs will get better over time. (Let’s not go there in this post, OK?)However, the ELACs best the Polks in the bass regions, especially the lower bass. Again, the A/B testing has been done without the participation of the subwoofer. For what it’s worth, the Polk cabs are about 10% larger than the ELAC cabs. Yet the ELACs have deeper bass than the Polks. If the ELAC highs are good enough for you, and you are not using a subwoofer, you may prefer the ELACs over the Polks.But once the subwoofer is introduced, then the Polks sound better to me than the ELACs. This is likely because the sub picks up the lower bass range that the Polks miss, and the Polks’ high end bests the ELACs… again, to my ears.As for cosmetics, both sets of speakers look great. My Polks have the cherry finish. The ELACs come with “brushed vinyl,” and they look great. It isn’t trying to be wood… but it rather looks quite modern and I think attractive in appearance. The speaker connections on both sets are 5-way jobs… though I still prefer the pinch spring-loaded varieties due to the ease of connect/disconnect.The ELACs are about twice the price of the Polks currently. “Open box” and “scratch and dent” deals can save you some money.I had hopes that the ELACs would be my choice… but it ain’t gonna happen. I’ll be sticking with the Polks for now. I might upgrade to the Polk TSi200’s since they are the heirs to the Monitor 40’s and have a slightly larger cabinet.That’s my take on comparing these two sets of speakers. I wouldn’t even call this post a “review” of these two sets of speakers. It’s just a comparison by someone whose hearing is compromised, and that “someone” is not an audiophile. I just like listening to good music over decent speakers that don’t cost a fortune.As always, your mileage may vary. Thanks for reading.
Merdith Roach –
Better than expectedI have had the tower version of these for several years 2017ish and I was suprised when I saw these are still around and they do great on 50 watts. Full sound with plenty of bass. Just because youtube doesnt have tons of new videos on these means nothing. They are ported in the back and it shows. Pull them out from the wall a bit and it shines. They are a bit taller than typical bookshelf speakers and that is a good thing. I am glad they still make these. I like this line of polks. They stay around for a reason the towers too. Make sure the extra wire posts are tight or they can rattle. They are efficient and should work well from 40-100 watts. For 200 dollars none of the new speakers in that price range can touch these without a sub.
Ccwolfe23 –
Polk Audio, what more can I say? These speakers are fantasticGreat sounding bookshelf speakers that don’t let you down when it comes to sound. Very pleased and sound great with my Polk Audio Monitor 70’s
Satyam S. –
Awesome Pair’s with Fast DeliveryJust go for It…
John –
Great SoundI have a small Mini stereo in my bedroom the speakers that came with it were a bit lackluster I got these for Better sound and they definitely delivered it .. Exceptional frequency response clarity and dynamics at a reasonable price … The sound these tiny speakers deliver is amazing for their size.
Carol –
The Polk Monitor40 Series2 are very Impressive.The Polk Monitor40 Series2 are very Impressive.Like other reviewers I was surprised by the sound and value.I bought 2 pair to be placed in the corners of my 15×35′ living room a PSW10 sub and a XT30 center. They may be overkill as rear surrounds but they fit the positions and the sale price wasn’t much different than smaller satellites. Right out of the box the sound was conspicuously crisp and clear including the strong tight base sound. I have yet to hook up the PSW10 sub that arrived at the same time. Had I known how good the monitors alone sounded I might have been hesitant to get the sub.In my situation the tall narrow speakers on height adjustable stands fit my locations and look good. I assumed they wouldn’t be light but didn’t expect the 14 lb. ea. weight so the 36″ stands will have to be stabilized for earthquakes.I wondered if the (2ea) 5-1/4″ woofers were better than one larger one? but with a total of 10 5-1/4″ woofers and 5 tweeters in one room they sound really good to me. Even at very low volume levels the sound is still full range and clear which I attribute to the smaller drivers. My mid power AV receiver drives them well enough to annoy my neighbors if I’m not careful. I appreciate realistic base levels and they have more than enough to rattle the dishes and windows. I was test listening to some SPA type music and someone said they could not tell where the sound was coming from. Streaming videos with accomplished drummers, saxophones and harmonicas are very impressive. When the sounds bounce and roll around the room it makes me smile.Very live sounding.If all Polk Audio speakers are as good as these they will have my loyalty.
Electron Lover –
Still at break-in, but the sound is more than acceptableI can see why others have rated this speaker as highly as they do. The sound is neutral to slightly sweet, even at this point in the break-in cycle. My biggest concern with a bookshelf type speaker of this size is how well it handles bass frequencies. I don’t intend on purchasing a subwoofer to go with these. Well, the low notes are there, not boomy, but also not at the volume level of the upper frequencies. Ported speakers, like these, can produce hollow, boomy bass notes, but these speakers breath well. High frequencies are smooth, and to my ears pretty faithful. The cabinet is well constructed, solid and well finished. The grill snaps on and off. I leave them off since these speakers are away from danger. I haven’t experimented with speaker placement as that will alter their sound. Right now, they are away from deep room corners, but also not projecting from the center of the room.
Jaeson K. –
Excellent quality and excellent soundWas surprised at the sound quality for such a affordable price.
Kyle Brey –
Budget price does NOT mean budget soundLet me start by saying there are ZERO cons to these monterous “bookshelf” speakers.Zero.Not only in it’s current price range, but in it’s original 349 price range either. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better sounding SET of speakers for under 500 dollars.With that said, they need POWER to make them sing. I’m running a Pioneer Elite VSX-LX301 and have the front monitor 40s bi-amped, also I have m40s for rears too. Excellent setup. I was running them single amped with an older Sony 710 receiver and they sounded just OK. Then I bi amped them with the sony and they lit up. Once I upgraded to the better AVR they now absolutely SING!The highs are bright at +3db Treble (old amp and single amped they were slightly muffled at +6 treble) but never Klipsch style fatiguing. The bass could leave one wanting more, but in my experience there is no other 5in woofer that sounds as deep and punchy, I’d even go so far as to say theres no 6.5in woofer that impacts like these do.They need room to breath. They are DEEP, almost 17in deep with grills on. They’re rear ported so you need at LEAST a foot from the wall for them to really shine. Or closer to the wall, with the port centered in a corner. It gives a nice bass boost in corner placement.The Bass. When I first auditioned them in bi-amp on my Pioneer, I went to turn off the sub during a Dire Staits song only to find that I’d never turned the sub on. Wow.These speakers are “hi res” without the shiny label. They have the same Hz rating on high end as hi res labeled speakers do, without the gimmicky pricing.Music – they shine. They’re crisp and impactful without being fatiguing. I’ve noticed nuances before not heard. (I’ve owned everything from bose to infinity to B&W)Movies/TV – these sound so good in the fronts that I need to now upgrade my center speaker to keep up with them. My center is +4db and my fronts are -2db (Polk T30 and older Boson acoustics both are hard pressed to keep up)The M40s in the rear are equally impressive. I have them set to -1 on rear channels and they still give me emerson I’ve not heard before.TLDR = if you have the power to throw at these, they will NOT disappoint. They sound as good, if not better, than my Monitor 50 sii did, and in a smaller package.If you’re considering these, buy them. Buy them now. The Polk Monitor line is considered entry level, but these 40s, as well as the 70s prove that design is far more important than inflated prices.Side note, I also auditioned the “legendary” ELAC B6.2 and was unimpressed with them. Follow your ears, not the ears of reviewers who are paid to talk up little known speaker companies.You’ll thank me later.
Michael Uhl –
Good bookshelf speakers.I bought these for myself as a Father’s Day gift. Hooked ’em up and I did good. Good balance at all volumes, able to get loud without distortion and without straining the amp. Glad I made the choice!